The present invention relates generally to door hinges for a motor vehicle, and more particularly to a double pivot door hinge for permitting a greater than ninety degree opening of a vehicle door.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,665 discloses a double pivot hinge for vehicle doors. A first and second latch means are alternately movable between latched and unlatched positions to either latch the hinge arm to one hinge butt mounted to the door to permit a 90-degree movement, or to latch the hinge arm to another hinge butt mounted to the vehicle for 90 to 180 degree movement.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,561,887 and 5,685,046 disclose vehicle double pivot door hinges. The door rotates about the vehicle-mounted pivot for a zero to 90 degree movement, the vehicle-mounted pivot being locked releasably in the 90 degree position, for example by a ball detent. Ball detents or cams exterior to the door-mounted pivot keep the door-mounted pivot from moving during the zero to 90-degree action. These ball detents or cams then release to permit the door-mounted pivot to rotate, so that a 90-degree to 180-degree motion can be achieved.
The actual pivots of these double-pivot prior art devices all have the same or no resistance, so that external latches or devices are required to provide the desired movements and braking.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,347, assigned to Edscha and hereby incorporated by reference herein, shows a door hinge with a resistance pivot where a locking member acts directly on a cylinder stem having grooves. The reistance pivot can provide for door opening angles up to 270 degrees. However, only a single pivot is provided.